The Forest of Bowland AONB is consulting on its management plan – you have until 25 May to respond. Please respond to this consultation – I shall. Off the top of my head I might respond by saying; the logo of the AONB is inappropriate since the key species has been wiped out over the…
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Cuckoo!
I’ve spent the last couple of days with the World Land Trust at the BTO HQ in Thetford (thank you! BTO). There was a meeting of partners from across the world (mostly Latin America but also Vietnam, Malaysia, India and Madagascar) and so I was seeing images of Jaguars, Orangutans and a wealth of…
See you there on Thursday 3 May
Flowers we can pick (2) – Daisies
I recognise them – they are Daisies! These plants jostle with the Dandelions to fill my lawn – I have a slight preference for the Daisy. Plantlife says it’s OK to pick a few Daisies now and again – good for them! It’s a long time since I made a daisy-chain – it’s time…
A 2-month spring break is coming soon
It is too late in the year to be regarded as hibernation, and possibly too early to be aestivation, and vernalization means something else entirely, so I’m not sure what to call it. However, this blog will be undergoing a 2-month period of semi-torpor from 4 May – 4 July. I am travelling, coming and…
Spring comes late to east Northants
Last week I was away for four mornings but from Saturday to Wednesday I have been for my regular walk around Stanwick Lakes each morning. There have been so few birds that I have resorted to looking at plants! Like this Coltsfoot – one of the few plants I recognise (at least on a good…
Flowers we can pick (1) – Dandelion
Plantlife says that, provided we don’t go over the top, we can pick some of our commonest and prettiest flowers. That’s quite brave of them! I’ll cover one of the ‘Pickable 12’ each week at relevant times through the spring and summer. Let’s start with the Dandelion – and you can come pick them in…
Nice wine, nice bird
We had a good bottle of Malbec before attending a performance by comedian Mark Steel at the Derngate Theatre in Northampton a couple of weeks ago. We didn’t just have the Malbec – we had it with Pizza etc in the nearby Pizza Express. I’ve been wondering ever since why an Argentinian wine has…
Hotting up for Avery Island
I’ve never been to Avery Island, Louisiana, but I’ve often thought I would – maybe I need to hurry up. For most people, Avery Island means very little, but for those to whom it means anything, it will probably be as the home of Tabasco sauce. I like Tabasco – I had some on cheese…
Not many migrants
There haven’t been many spring migrants (birds) around in Northants so far. I still haven’t seen anything more than Chiffchaffs and a few Sand Martins – but then I’m not out all the time. But the Chiffchaffs are singing in lots of places. Their song cuts through the air and delivers the message that spring…